Amos 2

Amos 2:1 This is what the LORD says: “For three sins of Moab, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. Because he burned, as if to lime, the bones of Edom’s king,

The ‘fourth sin’ of Moab was the irrational outrage committed against a corpse. They persued the king of Edom to the grave, and then beyond, in their lust for revenge. ‘Could anything more clearly expose the senseless irrationality of nourished hatred than to see a venerable corpse dragged out to suffer purposeless indignities?’ (NBC)

Amos 2:2 I will send fire upon Moab that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth. Moab will go down in great tumult amid war cries and the blast of the trumpet.

Amos 2:3 I will destroy her ruler and kill all her officials with him,” says the LORD.

Amos 2:4 This is what the LORD says: “For three sins of Judah, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. Because they have rejected the law of the LORD and have not kept his decrees, because they have been led astray by false gods, the gods their ancestors followed,

Now comes a significant change: the prophet turns his attention from the wickedness of the surrounding nations to the sins of the chosen people. The ‘fourth sin’ of Judah is their rejection of the law of God.

False gods – ‘Gods’ are not explicitly mentioned in the original. ‘Such gods would be included by implication but the words of Amos are stronger: ‘their falsehoods have led them astray, after which their fathers walked’.’

Amos 2:5 I will send fire upon Judah that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem.”

Amos 2:6 This is what the LORD says: “For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. They sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals.

Amos 2:7 They trample on the heads of the poor as upon the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed. Father and son use the same girl and so profane my holy name.

The prophet begins to turn from Israel’s social crimes to her sins against God and his ‘holy name’.

Amos 2:8 They lie down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge. In the house of their god they drink wine taken as fines.

Amos 2:9 “I destroyed the Amorite before them, though he was tall as the cedars and strong as the oaks. I destroyed his fruit above and his roots below.

Amos 2:10 “I brought you up out of Egypt, and I led you forty years in the desert to give you the land of the Amorites.

Amos 2:11 I also raised up prophets from among your sons and Nazirites from among your young men. Is this not true, people of Israel?” declares the LORD.

Amos 2:12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.

Amos 2:13 “Now then, I will crush you as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.

Amos 2:14 The swift will not escape, the strong will not muster their strength, and the warrior will not save his life.

Amos 2:15 The archer will not stand his ground, the fleet-footed soldier will not get away, and the horseman will not save his life.

Amos 2:16 Even the bravest warriors will flee naked on that day,” declares the LORD.